Spanish refereeing has not been a protagonist in this 2026 World Cup because it has not had the trust of the Refereeing Division of FIFA led by the former Italian referee Pierluigi Collina. The only referee appointed to officiate matches was Alejandro Hernández Hernández, who is already in Spain with a record not seen since 2002 at the Korea and Japan World Cup. Since then, no Spanish referee had left a World Cup having officiated only one match, a decision that reflects FIFA’s lack of trust, which has not chosen him for more matches in the championship with the most games in history.
The Canarian was the only Spanish referee called up to officiate field matches and only directed the Brazil-Haiti match of the second day of the group stage, where he applied for the first time the rule of awarding a corner to the opposing team when a goalkeeper delays taking a goal kick excessively. The Haitian goalkeeper, Johny Placide, did so and was penalized with a corner kick in favor of the team led by Carlo Ancelotti.
Since then, Hernández has remained in Miami, ready to referee, although he has only been called to act as fourth official, the last time in the quarterfinal match between England and Norway. This decision places the refereeing of the RFEF on par with countries with smaller championships such as China, Paraguay, United Arab Emirates, or Mauritania and far from federations like Brazil, Argentina, France, and England, which have had their referees officiate up to seven matches in this World Cup. The progress of their teams has distanced them, especially in the case of the two English and two French referees.
Spain always had a representative in every World Cup since the 1980s, with referees like Lamo Castillo, Sánchez Arminio, or Soriano Aladrén, who officiated in Spain, Mexico, and Italy. In the 1994 USA World Cup, Manuel Díaz Vega was present, while García Aranda was chosen to referee the opening match of the France World Cup between Brazil and Scotland, as well as a round of 16 match between the Netherlands and Yugoslavia (2-1) and the semifinal between France and Croatia (2-1). He is the referee who has gone the furthest in a World Cup.
In Japan and Korea, López Nieto again officiated only one group stage match, but the situation changed in Germany 2006. Medina Cantalejo officiated four matches: three group stage games, one round of 16, and a quarterfinal.
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Three matches for Undiano in South Africa
Spain advancing through stages in South Africa 2010 to reach and win the final did not prevent Undiano Mallenco from officiating three matches, two in the group stage and one in the round of 16. In 2014, in Brazil, Velasco Carballo and his team of assistants were given two group stage matches and a quarterfinal.
Both in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2024, the representative was Toño Mateu Lahoz. One group stage match and a quarterfinal. In 2022 he officiated the Netherlands-Argentina match, which went down in history as one of the tensest matches of the World Cup: the Valencian referee showed 18 yellow cards, a record in a World Cup, as well as a red card for a double booking at the end of the match.
Hernández Hernández, according to El Mundo, expected something more, which has nothing to do with the performance of the Spanish team because among the 13 referees who have remained in the quarterfinals and semifinals there are also English, Argentine, or Italian referees. The only Spaniard who stayed longer as VAR is Carlos del Cerro Grande. He, along with Hernández Hernández himself, were chosen by FIFA for the Club World Cup, but from the VOR room. There were no referees on the pitch.
